Global Markets Direct just came out with their Top Ten Global Energy Trends in 2009.

1. Capital expenditure on oil exploration and production will continue to stagnate in 2009
2. Oil price volatility to continue in the short term but likely to stabilize within a lower narrow band by the end of 2009
3. Clean energy projects will play a crucial role in the long term energy needs of the world although there will be reduced investment in 2009
4. New investments in unconventional oil and gas projects will decline in 2009
5. Coal will continue to be the highest consumed energy source in 2009 despite a shift towards nuclear and alternative sources
6. Nuclear energy will play an increasing role in meeting the global energy needs even though some new projects might be delayed in 2009
7. European countries’ will continue to increase efforts to reduce their dependence on Russian natural gas in 2009
8. Demand for natural gas to continue to increase in 2009
9. Electricity generation capacity to grow in 2009 while distribution and transmission would require further investments
10. Rise in construction costs will delay projects in the refining sector

You can purchase the complete report here

The only thing wind is good for now is to fly a kite.

T. Boone Pickens has delayed his 4,000-megawatt wind farm in the Texas Panhandle because lower prices for natural gas make it uneconomical.

Since the price of natural gas has decreased under $7 per million Btu, it would be more expensive to to produce energy from wind farms. Pickens says that natural gas prices would have to be over $9 per million Btu for wind energy to be advantageous.

This is another sign of how the low oil and natural gas prices have slowed down alternative energy. With the lower prices, people have been losing interest in alternative energy technologies. Once prices rise again, there will be a renewed push for alternative energy resources where businesses can make money from alternative energy sources.

I’m a big fan of the X PRIZE Foundation because of the ingenuity and creativity that they promote with their record breaking contests in different fields such as aviation, energy, and science. And you know I’ve been watching the progress of the Auto X PRIZE here on my blog.

What’s amazing about their prizes as well is that you can submit your own idea for a prize. What do you think as impossible? How will it benefit all of mankind? These are the challenges that the X PRIZE Foundation wants to support.

Ken Beitel, a computer systems analyst and documentary film producer, has entered the contest and is proposing that the next X Prize be a $10 billion corporate challenge focusing on renewable energy investment:

First Company or Corporate team to Generate $10 billion in Renewable Energy Investment via Retirement Plans Could be the Winner of a Proposed New X Prize. Adding a renewable energy sector fund to 401(k) retirement plans will: 1)generate a significant number of new jobs 2)create a healthy economy, 3)increase clean energy production, 4)lower energy costs and combat climate change

You can catch a 2 minute video of his idea at The Renewable Energy Initiative which he pitches his project.

I think it’s a great idea for a prize, and we’ll have to see if the X PRIZE Foundation chooses it.

Think you have something better? Submit your proposal to the Foundation by November 18th, 2008 as they will begin judging the entries that have been submitted.

I wrote a breakdown of energy policy that both Obama and McCain proposed if they were to be president. Now that Obama has won the presidential election, it’s important to go back and review his proposals more closely to see what he wants to do during his term in office.

Barack Obama’s energy plan calls for investing $150 billion in renewable energies that will generate 5 million jobs in America.

You can read more details into Barack Obama’s energy plan on his factsheet for New Energy for America.

Interest in alternative energy has cooled down as oil prices have dropped more than half from a summertime high of $143. I wouldn’t get too comfortable though, with OPEC controlling oil production, you never know when the next spike will be. They recently announced that they were cutting production to stabilize prices. It doesn’t look like this first production cut has made much of an impact on prices since the demand for oil is lower globally, but the last two years has showed us that it can bounce right back up at anytime. Ideally, OPEC would like oil prices to be between $80 - $100 per barrel, and that doesn’t include the spikes that will happen during shortages or other global events.

“The one thing that is certain about energy prices is that they are volatile,” said Ralph Cavanagh, head of the energy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “They bounce crazily around. And Californians know this better than anyone - you don’t want to be a victim of the next bad bounce.”

So, now more than ever, we have to remember the pain that we’ve had to go through the last couple of years of high oil prices and try to prevent that same pain in the future.

If we don’t do more now with alternative energy research and development, we WILL just repeat history and go through the whole energy crisis again.

NozzleRage.com recently put out their second video to bring awareness to how much money we send to foreign nations, how it can effect our economy, and to promote alternative fuels for our vehicles. Even though I don’t think that this video is as funny as the first one, I like how they’re pushing our independence of foreign oil through humor that we all can relate to and what we can do about it.

It’s always flattering when your website or blog makes it on a list with other notable people and organizations. I got an email the other day that this blog made it on the The Top 100 Environmentalists Blogs.

Check out the list, there is quite a collection of great blogs on there to read. A couple great ones that I’ve never heard of, but will begin to follow.

Read the rest of this entry »

Google as come out with an energy plan that would reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by 2030. Google wants their Clean Energy 2030 proposal to “stimulate debate” so we can have a real conversation about how we are going to solve our energy needs for the future.

The Wall Street Journal says:

While requiring $4.4 trillion in expenditures, Google estimates that the plan would return a net savings of $1.0 trillion over its 22-year duration and create many new jobs. Work on the report was led by Jeffery Greenblatt, climate and energy technology manager for Google.org, the company’s nonprofit arm.

And the highlight of the plan is:

Greenblatt wrote that the “Clean Energy 2030″ plan would involve heavy investments in transmission capacity for wind and solar power in the “Great Plains and desert Southwest” to help cut 88% of fossil fuel use and 95% of carbon-dioxide emissions by 2030.

The Clean Energy 2030 plan covers these issues:

1. Reduce demand by doing more with less
2. Develop renewable energy that is cheaper than coal
3. Electrify transportation and re-invent our electric grid

It doesn’t surprise me that businesses and other prominent people are putting together energy plans. From the Pickens Plan, Google’s energy solution, and a number of other energy plans have been brought forth.

As I have said before, in today’s world it’s corporations and private companies, not government, that drive many big social changes. There is no time to wait on government plans because they would take too long and be inefficient. However, businesses with money on the line will find ways for clean energy to be profitable and available to everyone.

What are your thoughts on Google’s Clean Energy 2030 plan?

Google recently pledged $10 million to fund good ideas. It’s called Project 10¹⁰⁰ (pronounced “ten to the one hundredth) and anyone can submit their ideas and you can enter as many ideas as you like.

The deadline for submissions is Oct. 20th and you can submit your idea by clicking here. Google will then pick the 100 best ideas. Beginning January 27th Google is going to allow the people to vote on the 100 ideas to choose twenty semi-finalists. Then an advisory board will select up to five final ideas.

Even though I’ve submitted about a dozen different ideas related to alternative energy, you can submit an idea for any of these categories:

So, if you’ve been thinking about that one great idea that you believe could change the world, here’s your chance to do it!

Last week I ran a very unscientific energy survey to get your opinion on which alternative energy you were most excited about.

Thank you to everyone that made a selection and left comments, here are the results:

The solar and wind energy responses were as expected. Many people are excited about solar and wind because they get a lot of press and the advances in those two technologies have been dramatic. I didn’t think that tidal energy would have fallen in third place. It was interesting that the closer someone lived to a large river or the ocean were more likely to chose tidal energy for their selection.

There are quite a few advantages to tidal energy, but the applications thus far haven’t been nearly as publicized as biofuels and geothermal energy.

I just completely forgot to include nuclear energy in the options. I will be sure to include it next year when I run this poll again to see how opinions have changed and the reasons behind it.

As the energy revolution continues and we look for a more comprehensive energy plan, I am absolutely positive that all of these alternative energies will have their own role in our alternative energy options.